Festival Helps Build Community Spirit

NEWPORT NEWS — With the sun beating down, a breeze blowing off the Hampton Roads and plenty of people wandering around King-Lincoln Park, Angelita Saldivar was pretty happy.

``I've gotten to see a lot of friends here today,'' the sixth-grader at Booker T. Washington Middle School said. ``And a lot of DARE officers.''

Officers trained in DARE - Drug Abuse Resistance Education - were only a few of the uniformed men and women promoting a sense of community at the 1997 Southeast Community Day and Festival.

A black convertible BMW now painted with the DARE logo was a big hit among young festival-goers. Some perched in rows of four along the car's rear deck, enjoying one of the last days of summer.

Just behind the car, 11-year-old Cherelle Goodwin helped Bill Fleming distribute information packets and stickers for the Newport News Recycling and Clean City Commission. Cherelle estimated she'd given out hundreds of the green and white plastic bags, and some free advice.

``I saw a little boy walking by, and he just threw down a cup of water,'' Cherelle said. ``I told him to pick it up, 'cause he was littering. He put it in the trash can.''

The commission was recruiting volunteers to ``Adopt a Spot,'' which is similar to the Adopt a Highway program, when groups of volunteers clean a stretch of highway several times each year. Albert J. Cousineau III, commission coordinator, said interest had been pretty good so far.

``We notice that past Mercury Boulevard, the number drops off,'' Cousineau said. ``We want people to take pride in their community.''

Politicians, local and statewide, also took advantage of the day to get their message out to potential voters. But Sherri Neil was making sure all those voters were registered.

Neil, working with ACORN and Rock the Vote, two get-out-the-vote organizations, had several volunteers strolling through the crowd of people listening to gospel performances Saturday afternoon. Those who were interested could sign up by just filling in a form.

The volunteers signed up an average of seven people an hour in their continuing quest to register 4,000 new voters on the Peninsula. Their efforts were also aimed toward recruiting volunteers to help their effort.

Two teen-agers - neither quite old enough to vote - were just enjoying the music that played throughout the day at the festival. Ticoya Mullen, 14, and Natasha Dickerson, 15, were taking time out after marching in the parade that began the event.

The two members of Heritage High School's band were waiting for 6 p.m., when they left to perform at their school's football game against Warwick. They were among the few who thought the fall-like temperatures were still a little on the warm side.

``It's hard to march when it's hot. We like it a little cooler,'' Ticoya said. ``But we wore T-shirts and shorts, so it wasn't too bad.''